MovieChat Forums > The Spitfire Grill (1996) Discussion > Hannah's safe at the Spitfire Grill

Hannah's safe at the Spitfire Grill

posted 17 years ago by thorsail
2 replies | jump to latest

What is bugging me is that ONLY 2 people had the combo to Hannah's safe , so
how could Percy have gotten the money out of it ? Barney Fife could've solved
this incredible mystery ! No one questioned how the safe got opened in the first place - then that chuckle-headed nephew puts the money in the very same
gunney sack used to deliver can goods to Eli/JohnnyB ? kinda lame . We see
the nephew turning the dial on the safe so it is asumed that with 250 thousand
dollars in there it was locked , a weak moment in an otherwise fine film .
As written , I wanted that loser nephew to add after his confesion " I will
be leaving town now" . Shelby could only do better with him gone .

[–] TesubCalle 17 years ago

It was never explicitly stated that only two people knew the safe combo.

Percy had ample opportunity to spy on Hannah on any given evening and note the combination (had she been so inclined). In fact, we see her lookin in on Hannah on one of the first nights she's there as she's putting in the day's earnings. Hannah's hip spasms at that time. Hannah almost senses she's being watched, and when she turns, Percy is gone from view.

Remember: Percy had everything stacked against her, and Nahum played it up. He was against her from the start. He wasn't about to admit his role in the disappearance on the funds! To do so would make him look extremely stupid, reveal his predjudice against percy, as well as prove Shelby right about him and his motives.

I think it was one of the better parts of the movie, because it truly showed the lengths to which Nahum was willing to go in his hatred and suspicion of Percy.

[–] thorsail 17 years ago

re:tesub calle- Your appraisal of Nahum is spot on , I think he hates women
in general . The debate over the safe comes from the fact that the film
director did not give us the information we need to know who does have access
to the combination - it was not addressed at all and seems pivotal to me , and
why I was disappointed that no character in the film questioned how the money
went missing from the safe ! Also , the scene were Percy walks by an open door
when Hannah is putting money in the safe is very early in the film before we
know anything about the people , we know Percy was in jail , but not why , and
that casts doubt on her , the director put that scene there to show a self-
preservation trait in Hannah - the Grill is her life and livelihood and trust
needs to be established between these characters . Don't get me wrong , I
LIKED this movie but I think the director and/or editor dropped the ball in this one crucial plot point . If you enjoyed The Spitfire Grill may I
recommend a movie - "State and Main" , a film crew takes over a small Vermont
town to film a movie , has a teriffic ensemble cast-funny and touching .
Thorsail.